Thicker Than Water
by Drea Jackman
Summary: When Alec’s true colours finally shine through, Max realises that perhaps blood really is thicker than water. (M/L, M&A) (NEW! Chapter 5!)
1. It Starts

TITLE: Thicker Than Water  
  
WRITTEN BY: Drea Jackman  
  
EMAIL: X5-117@GeneticallyEngineered.co.uk  
  
WEBSITE: Logan & Max - http://eyesonly.topcities.com/  
  
RATING: R  
  
SUMMARY: When Alec's true colours finally shine through, Max realises that perhaps blood  
really is thicker than water.   
  
DISCLAIMER: All Dark Angel characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee  
(Cameron Eglee Productions) and Dark Angel itself belongs to FOX...it's just not fair is it? *Sob*  
  
ARCHIVE: If I've said yes before I'll say it again, otherwise email me 'n' lemme know.  
  
FEEDBACK: Don't make me beg, please? ...D'OH!  
  
A/N: Hey, hey! Just another fic that sorta rattled off from the whole Alec-interest I'm suffering  
from right now. Suffering? Actually hell no! Loving every minute of exploring is more like.   
Okay so alot of M/L shippers didn't listen and read that last M/A fic I wrote, so it was your own  
fault, lol. But, never fear. You CAN read this and be just as happy, even though Alec features  
heavily. More Alec/Max/Logan angst than you can shake a stick at...and I'm still wondering why  
I even used that phrase! Love it or hate it, lemme know and I'll ditch/continue it. Next chapter  
will allow all to become clear...or most of it anyway :p  
____________________________________________________________________________  
  
  
Max was at her locker packing up some things into her backpack before preparing to go hit  
Crash with Sketchy, Original Cindy and the others, just another day with nothing eventful  
happening besides the odd hail of 'Bip, bip, bip!' from Normal. Sighing she slammed the red,  
metal door closed only to come face to face with features she knew only too well.  
  
"What do you want now?" Max asked, annoyance already evident in her tone.  
  
"Now is that any way to greet your good friend and all round helpful work colleague?" Alec's  
teasing reply fired back at her immediately.  
  
He stood casually, leaning against the lockers beside her, arms folded across his chest and that  
same damn smirk of his gleaming back at her. Max found herself wondering why she didn't just  
give in to instinct and smack him one in the head everytime he pulled his smart ass crap with  
her.  
  
"Maybe not," she began and Alec's eyebrow raised in surprise. Was he winning?  
  
"But it's how I'll greet you," she finished, bursting what little bubble he'd had going for him.  
  
"Much as I'd love to fight you on this one, I've got more important things to worry about."  
  
The smirk never left his face as his eyes stared back at hers with a unflinching honesty. Max  
had to give him credit, he'd always managed to be up front with her, even more than was  
necessary sometimes, but truthful all the same.  
  
"That being?" she sighed, giving in to the notion that whatever he was trying to say, she'd end  
up right in the thick of it as usual again.  
  
"Well, if you're not interested..." he stood up straight and made a half turn towards the exit way.  
  
"Cut the shit Alec!" Max almost growled, the feral and angry tone giving her voice an edge that  
made even Alec flinch and halt dead in his tracks.  
  
Before he was even aware he'd stopped moving, he felt her grip on his upper arm, the sudden  
grip bringing a force that pushed him back as the impact of the lockers connecting with his back  
sent a thunderous echo all around the room. Holding his hands up in surrender he flashed Max  
his usual, playful smirk.  
  
"Hey, easy Max. Y'know you're hot when you're angry."  
  
Max's rage had been inflamed to levels beyond her comprehension. How was it this guy could  
push all her god damn buttons like that? Her free hand gripping him by the collar, Max hauled  
Alec off the lockers and leaned her face intimidating and dangerously close to his as she spoke.  
  
"Alec, I'm through playing up to your little games. When you decide it's more fun to be an actual  
human being and less of a smart ass..." she offered her final ultimatum as Alec's smile faded,  
replaced with an expression mirroring that of serious intensity along with the slightest notion of  
regret. He knew he'd go that little bit too far again.  
  
"Heard that White found himself a group of X6's. Thought it'd be somethin' newsworthy to you,"  
he finished, his tone matter-of-fact and all business.  
  
Max let her grip on Alec falter, taking a step back slowly as her eyes came to settle on his chest,  
her mind running over her past few run-ins with White. He wasn't the usual kind of big bad that  
usually featured in her life. Much better looking, but with that whole dark,  
wanting-to-wipe-out-her-kind deal going on. Still, the fact that Alec had even brought the news  
to her was a surprise in the slightest. Slowly her eyes found his again.  
  
"Where?" she asked plainly, slipping into soldier mode as she planned the escape mission she  
could only hope wouldn't come too late in saving some of the X6 unit.  
  
"Hauled up in a warehouse in sector nine," Alec replied, his tone now all business too.  
  
"Why holding them? So far all he's done is hunt and kill."  
  
"Beats me, but then again I did finally get a clean bill of health from Psy-Obs," he shrugged  
sarcastically, his tone successfully covering up what had been one of the worst experiences of  
his life. "Hardly qualified to predict and interpret the behavioural patterns of a crazed lune."  
  
Max didn't miss the underlying feeling, but now wasn't the time. She wasn't entirely  
unsympathetic, even if it was Alec. She wouldn't have wished that kind of torture on anyone.   
Well maybe White and whatever Manticore drone it had been that spliced Logan's DNA to her  
very own genetic virus. Those bastards could pay till the end of time and it still wouldn't be  
enough to redeem their wrongs.  
  
"He wants us," Max said, her realisation clear and unhindered by the fog of confusion and  
misdirection thrown in by White's previous ploys.  
  
"Yeah, us and every other X series out there."  
  
"No. He wants us, that's why he hasn't killed them yet. He knows if they're still alive then,"  
  
"Then we'll be the idiots to go on a suicide mission to get them out?" Alec finished for her.  
  
"No one said you had to get involved. You can go cover your own ass someplace else," Max  
snapped back, typically jumping to old conclusions.  
  
"I'm genuinely hurt by that, Max."  
  
Max sighed as she slung her pack over her back and headed out to her bike. Alec followed  
close on her heals as she zipped up her leather jacket and turned to find him in pursuit, the  
same determined expression telling her he was going to fight her every step of the way if she  
didn't listen to him. She'd had enough already, temper flaring she retaliated before he'd even  
spoken.  
  
"Bite me!"  
  
"I'm serious!" he exclaimed, face expressionless for all of a few seconds before the slight flicker  
of anger burned there, an answer to the temper he'd noticed flare in her in that instant.  
  
"I wanna help," he finished sincerely, probably more so than she'd ever seen before.  
  
Max again was completely taken aback by his strange behaviour. How could he still pull the  
smart ass routine and get away with surprising her like he'd managed to twice in about five  
minutes? Accepting his words at face value, Max fell silent and turned her back on him, getting  
onto her motorcycle and sliding her shades down over her eyes, masking the conflicting  
emotions there. Alec's eyes only burned into her more as the silence grew palpable.  
  
"Shut up!" Her order was firm and final, but her head tilted to the side ever so slightly only  
moments later as her shoulders seemed to slump, defeated in posture as she sat astride her  
baby. "...Get on."  
  
Alec fought the small smile tugging on his lips as his body sprang into action. Settling himself  
behind Max he gripped around her waist firmly and lowered his head as Max revved up the bike  
and tore off into the night. 


	2. Life Blood

TITLE: Thicker Than Water  
  
WRITTEN BY: Drea Jackman  
  
EMAIL: X5-117@GeneticallyEngineered.co.uk  
  
WEBSITE: Logan & Max - http://eyesonly.topcities.com/  
  
RATING: R  
  
SUMMARY: When Alec's true colours finally shine through, Max realises that perhaps blood  
really is thicker than water.   
  
DISCLAIMER: All Dark Angel characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee  
(Cameron Eglee Productions) and Dark Angel itself belongs to FOX...it's just not fair is it? *Sob*  
  
ARCHIVE: If I've said yes before I'll say it again, otherwise email me 'n' lemme know.  
  
FEEDBACK: Don't make me beg, please? ...D'OH!  
  
A/N: Okay this was originally the first chapter, but when I started to think over the flashbacks  
and what actually happens in future chapters, I decided that I couldn't have a fic heavily  
featuring Alec without the Max/Alec banter, so I went back and wrote in a new opening chapter  
and pushed this back to second. So far there's 5 planned right now...or at least, I'm pretty sure  
there's 5.....yeah I checked, lol. "5 Chapters of angst for Alec, Max and Logan...that's the plan."   
Hope ya like :)  
____________________________________________________________________________  
  
Logan was pulling what he felt was going to be another all nighter. The leads he'd been working  
on just didn't seem to be going anywhere. Taking his glasses off he listlessly rubbed at his eyes  
and slid a hand up into his hair, brushing the longer strands away from his forehead. Checking  
his watch as he replaced his glasses he saw that it was already after midnight. Reaching out he  
was just about to shutdown his computers when the sudden banging on his apartment door  
made him jump.  
  
Standing up the suit whirred gently as he moved to answer it. Finally opening the door he was  
startled by what he found there.  
  
"Max!" he gasped, concern plainly evident in his tone and facial expression as his eyes went  
wide at the sight before him.  
  
Max didn't answer, although the look on her face betrayed an expression of sheer shell shock  
and trauma. She had a sickening bruise marring her left cheek but that wasn't what scared  
Logan the most. The blood staining her golden skin, her face, her hands and her clothes, all  
scarlet. Logan got closer within moments and Max had to step back. Holding up her hands she  
urged him to stop where he was.  
  
"I have to get him inside," she said as she moved to the fallen figure beside her.  
  
"My God," Logan exclaimed. "What the hell happened?"  
  
Alec's fallen body lay crumpled in the hall floor, half propped up against the wall of Logan's  
apartment. He too was bruised and bleeding just like Max. As Max slowly picked him up with  
enhanced ease, Logan backed off into the apartment and closed the door after she'd entered.   
Following as close as safety would allow Logan tailed Max toward his guest bedroom where she  
gently laid the larger man of six feet down on the bed. He groaned, the first real sign that he'd  
been conscious at all. Max looked to Logan desperately.  
  
"White," she began only to be cut off by another groan from Alec as he attempted to shift on the  
bed.  
  
"Max?" Logan asked again, his patience wearing thin.  
  
"He caught up with some more of the X6," she trailed off for the briefest of seconds. "They're  
just kids. We couldn't just leave them there..."  
  
She paused again as Alec's movements grew more desperate. His skin was a sickly pale shade,  
a slick sheen of perspiration covering it and making him shiver with cold. Max sat on the edge of  
the bed and pulled open his jacket before sliding her hands over his arms, trying to steady his  
uncoordinated movements.  
  
"What happened to him?"  
  
"We both got beat down pretty hard, but he took two bullets. Passed straight through from what I  
can tell, but he's lost alot of blood."  
  
Max cursed herself for not making it back to the safety of Fogle Towers sooner. It had been  
hard to shake off the tail they'd acquired at the same time as keeping a protective eye on the X6,  
all the while trying to get Alec out alive. Even for an X5, it wasn't an easy task and the longer it  
had taken cost her precious time in helping him.  
  
"What about healing ability?" Logan asked, his mind systematically covering what had to be  
taken into account and what was to be done.  
  
"Won't do any good if he bleeds to death first," she said grimacing as she pulled her own jacket  
off and tossed it aside, the movement making her all too aware of the aches and pains in her  
own beaten body. "I need some needles and some tubing."  
  
Logan nodded and went to fetch the needed equipment from the bathroom cupboard. When he  
returned he found Max leaning over Alec, his jacket already on the floor with hers. Her  
expression was still one of surprise, as if what she'd played witness to earlier that night had left  
her with images, a trauma beyond her expectation.  
  
For the briefest of moments he could've submitted to the fleeting jealousy he felt in seeing Max  
with Alec, but quickly dismissed it as he recalled their dislike of one another. After all, that wasn't  
the issue here and then came the pangs of guilt for even having thought about it at such a time.  
  
"Here," he said softly, dropping the armful of materials on the other side of the bed.  
  
Max stopped her comforting whispers long enough to glance up at Logan, her eyes thanking him  
more than her words possibly could have at that point. Taking the tubing and wrapped plastic  
casing the needles were housed in, she rolled up her sleeves , hissing as the bruises over her  
arms ached and caught Logan's attention.  
  
"You okay?"   
  
He knew it was one of the dumber questions of the evening, but still, he had to ask.  
  
"I'll live," she said blankly staring at Alec's beaten and broken body. "I gotta get this thing  
started, can you see to the wounds?"  
  
"What do I have to do?"  
  
"Just patch him up. Bullets went straight through, he'll heal up as long as the bleeding's  
stopped," she replied, rhythmically beginning to tie off her arm above the elbow.  
  
Flicking at the vein she slowly prepared and injected the needle, shutting off the small seal to act  
as a makeshift valve. Taking Alec's now motionless arm she laid it in her lap and proceeded to  
hook him up to the other end of the ready-made transfusion kit. Moving farther back she kept  
her arm elevated as Logan returned with the first aid kit and some sterile wash.  
  
Max sat precious few feet away from where Logan tended to Alec's wounds. They weren't  
closed all the way and he was thankful the younger man was unconscious as he cleaned and  
patched him up. He was sure that even Manticore resolve would crumble in the face of such  
extensive damage.  
  
"He's cracked a few ribs too," Logan said, examining the deep bruising over both sides of Alec's  
lower abdomen.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
It'd been almost half an hour and Max's eyelids had become heavy. She'd long since zoned out  
of where she was to dance with the dreams that had begun to replay over in her mind more like  
nightmares.  
  
* * *  
  
Max turned to see Alec give the all clear signal as the last of the X6's were herded from the  
building. She noted his stressed stance and knew he'd taken a beating the same magnitude as  
her own. Still, they were soldiers and still on their feet. Nodding she'd turned back to see White  
regain his stance in time to snatch the gun she'd kicked away only seconds before. Her body  
already ached and burned, the resulting injuries of taking on White and his companions.  
  
In that instant, one of the remaining X6's fled from her concealed spot in hiding, a soldier no  
more, all that remained was a frightened child running for her life. It was all the distraction Max  
needed as White turned the weapon on the fleeing girl. Max launched herself at her, hoping to  
either get her out of the way or take the hit for her.   
  
Before she could turn around everything began to go into slow motion She hurriedly pushed the  
X6 female off in the direction of the closest way out and stood between her and White. Finally,  
she turned to see the barrel of White's raised weapon aimed straight at her. If he fired now  
there'd be no chance, her reflexes wouldn't be fast enough, not after the attacks she'd only just  
been able to fend off. White was a stronger opponent than she'd ever had to face and in that  
instant she felt like it'd all be over.  
  
"Max!"  
  
'That's not the plan, what's he doing?' The thoughts came through just as clear in nightmare as  
they had hours before in reality. Giving up his location to White wasn't part of their plan, he  
didn't have to...  
  
* * *  
  
"His ribs," Logan repeated. "Looks like he's cracked a few."  
  
Max only nodded drowsily and let her head slump onto her outstretched arm.  
  
"Haven't you given enough yet?" he asked as he began to bind strong support dressings around  
Alec's abdomen. He was worried beyond belief about Max's obviously deteriorating condition. It  
may have been in an attempt to save Alec's life, but when it came down to a choice, Logan knew  
who he couldn't face losing.  
  
"It's not enough," she hummed to herself in an almost delirious state.  
  
"Max, you're getting worse. You have to stop," Logan pleaded with her, getting as close as  
safety would allow.  
  
"I can't."  
  
"You have to!"  
  
"No!"  
  
Logan stepped closer still, desperation as plain as the terror on his face. With her last fleeting  
reserves of strength Max backed away, trying to get out of her chair. She didn't want Logan's  
death on her hands on top of Alec's should she fail.  
  
"If you can't, then I will," he said firmly.  
  
"Back off, Logan," Max's tone warned clearly of the dangers in pressing any further.  
  
"Max, if you don't stop this you'll die!"  
  
"If that's what it takes to save him!"  
  
Logan looked at Max as if he'd been slapped in the face. Even though he knew Max was  
capable of giving her life to save another, knowing it was another part of the woman he loved, it  
didn't make the gesture for Alec any less surprising. he knew thinking about it that way was  
wrong, but in the face of losing Max again, Eyes Only got selfish.  
  
The thick tension was broken by a muffled groan. Max's attention flew to the bed, the only thing  
stopping her from going to Alec, the fact that Logan was standing too close already. Looking at  
him wearily she gestured for him to step back. When he refused she closed her eyes as if  
cursing his stubborn streak, one that could only possibly be rivalled by her own.  
  
"Let me get close enough to unhook this," she said, her tone displaying her fatigue and  
impatience.  
  
Logan complied only too thankful that she'd finally stop bleeding herself dry. Max slipped the  
small needle from her arm and went to sit by Alec on the edge of the bed. He was still out cold,  
but he moved slightly now and then, muscles twitching beneath tenderised flesh as if reliving the  
nightmare she still felt weighing heavy in the back of her mind. She quickly set about seeing to  
his current state, slipping the metallic fang from his arm and pressing her thumb to it's puncture  
wound. Her hand followed the trail of bruises and bandages over his exposed upper body,  
fingertips hovering over the scrapes , cuts and bruises on his face.  
  
The vigil she maintained was protective, possessively so and Logan was left with the feeling that  
no matter how he tried, he'd never truly understand what it meant to be an X5 or from Manticore.   
The situation he saw Max dealing with before his very eyes left him with a void feeling of being  
an outsider.   
  
Still, being Logan Cale, he didn't let spare of the moment thoughts bring him down. In an hour  
the feelings would go and he'd understand her reactions completely, if he ever found out what  
had happened. Quietly Logan backed off and stood in the vacant doorway, watching Max shed  
silent tears over Alec. 


	3. Executed With Precision

TITLE: Thicker Than Water  
  
WRITTEN BY: Drea Jackman  
  
EMAIL: X5-117@GeneticallyEngineered.co.uk  
  
WEBSITE: Logan & Max - http://eyesonly.topcities.com/  
  
RATING: R  
  
SUMMARY: When Alec's true colours finally shine through, Max realises that perhaps blood  
really is thicker than water.   
  
DISCLAIMER: All Dark Angel characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee  
(Cameron Eglee Productions) and Dark Angel itself belongs to FOX...it's just not fair is it? *Sob*  
  
ARCHIVE: If I've said yes before I'll say it again, otherwise email me 'n' lemme know.  
  
FEEDBACK: Don't make me beg, please? ...D'OH!  
  
A/N: Wahey! It's chapter 3! Lol, sorry to sound overly hyper but I flew through this and chapter  
4 last night. But, typically I did it late last night cause I couldn't sleep before my Genetics Exam  
today so I can only type up ch3 tonight. Ch4 WILL bring in the M/L so a note to all the  
shippers...stick with it even if you don't like Alec (just how's that possible?!) Anyway, M/L comin'  
up soon so hang in there! BTW, can I ask a favour? For the life of me I can't remember how I  
wanna spell tazer. My spell check doesn't recognise any variation and I ended up goin with the  
'z' version for the sake of pronounciation in the fic. Anyone got a correction?  
  
____________________________________________________________________________  
  
  
Early evening had brought darkness and long shadows to the streets of Seattle. Max drove her  
Ninja straight towards sector nine, the one Alec had warned her of at Jampony. There was no  
need to stop anywhere since both were already suitable clothed for the mission objective. Max  
completely in black, including top and leather jacket, Alec in dark jeans, black turtleneck and his  
own leather jacket. Their expressions were stone-cast as the bike tore out of the city's busy  
streets and entered sector nine down by the waterfront.  
  
As Max pulled off the road just after the sector checkpoint Alec's firm grip around her waist  
slowly released and he slipped off the bike behind her. Quickly the pair made their way further  
into the sector. Finding the warehouse was the easy part of the plan. The next stage would be  
executing a successful breakout for the captive X6 unit.  
  
Once they had both formulated a plan, they set about entering the warehouse. The plan itself,  
for Max to take point in the mission, directly confronting and taking out White's men  
systematically as Alec saw to seeking out, freeing and ensuring safe passage of the escapees.   
Even Alec had to agree the point Max made in telling him White wouldn't expect 494 to risk his  
own ass in a rescue attempt. That part was more fitting of 452 so that was exactly what they'd  
give him.  
  
Splitting up, Max disappeared inside one of the broken windows out of Alec's sight. Alec  
immediately headed for the rear of the derelict building. Slipping inside he quickly located the  
group of kids, young teenagers for the most part. Cautiously, he awaited the telltale sound of  
combat before making his move. Looking down into the main floor of the warehouse he had a  
clear view of where Max had already begun to take on several members of White's team. White  
himself was no where to be seen just at that point.  
  
'Way to keep it stealthy 452,' he though, remembering the standard plan entailing silence and  
stealth until the last possible instant of discovery.  
  
Shrugging he was about to go release the X6 when the passing of two shadows caught his  
attention. More trouble. Using the speed Manticore had gifted him with, Alec headed for the  
large cages, together holding twelve members of the next X-generation, but he only made it half  
way.  
  
Alec was vaguely aware of the sound created as one of the trespassing shadows appeared to  
lunge out at him. A standard attack was no match for the reflexes of the X5 male and Alec easily  
evaded the incoming blow by quickly ducking. The sudden move at the speed he'd been  
travelling at caused him to slam to a sudden stop against the metal bars and forced all the air  
from his lungs. Before he could even manage to right his stance to take up a defensive posture  
he was slammed over and over in the back, the sharp pain stabbing at his lower back in the  
kidney area as it radiated through him in terrible waves.  
  
'So much for 494's unnoticed release mission,' he thought as he felt his legs being kicked out  
from under him.  
  
Crashing down to his knees he clung to the bars as he drew breath sharply and took vital  
seconds to register just how pissed off he really was. As the two attackers became four Alec  
leapt to his feet, a new strength surfacing, urged further by anger. Kicking out at one while  
aiming a successive upper cut at the other, the first two were taken out, the collective and direct  
attack of the enraged X5 too much for them.   
  
Hurriedly opening the cages he gasped aloud as the second pair fired tazers, the first of which  
he dodged only to be thrown into the path of the other. With a cry he hadn't wished to give them  
the satisfaction of hearing Alec felt the electric current strike him, burning him from deep inside  
as he sank to his knees.  
  
That was all it took to bring his world to the brink of darkness, but something made him hang on,  
fighting back the recesses of darkness to focus on what he had to do. He heard Max, her  
embittered cry, strangled, seeping with anger much the same as his had been moments before.   
They were both in this, right in the thick of it, both all the other had and their own only chance to  
make it back out alive.  
  
Alec had never known the real feeling of family. Perhaps family was the wrong choice, for no  
matter how many times Max or the others called the other members of their unit siblings, he  
knew himself that it would never be true. Maybe a beautiful sentiment to avoid realising that  
they truly were alone in the world.  
  
His vision began to clear, the image before him of the X6's desperate faces watching in horror  
as if their last chance was about to die before them. Everything snapped into place, smart ass  
no longer he was simply Alec, a man with people actually counting on him. The X6', Max, they  
needed him to get out just as much as he needed them and he couldn't give up and screw it all  
up the way he usually did. He desperately wanted to be better for them than that.  
  
As his own booming war cry rumbled deep in his throat and escaped his lips, Alec fought back,  
pushing the attacker to the ground before shooting him with his own tazer. About to get to the  
X6 kids, again more of White's men blocked his path, severe blows connecting all over his body  
as Alec landed hit after hit on his numerous attackers.  
  
The battle went like that for a long time. As one went down, it felt like another would rise to beat  
him down again. It was a long and arduous fight, but finally Alec managed to take enough of  
White's men out, affording him time to open the remaining mechanisms on the cage unites  
holding the captive X6.   
  
As the final door swung open the young teenagers stepped out. Alec heard approaching  
footsteps and turned to find another two men ready to attack. Taking up a defensive posture  
between the kids and the goons White had in his employ, Alec threw off a warning glare as he  
yelled back to them.   
  
"Get out!" His voice growled back, his breathing finally registering as that of an exhausted, soon  
to be broken soldier.  
  
It wasn't enough that White's men just kept coming, but a group of three X6 were trapped behind  
them. Alec was aware of how the remaining unit members had scattered behind him, but when  
he glanced over his shoulder he found a few still standing there. As they took up a fighting  
stance behind him Alec could almost have felt pride in the soldiers they'd become or sentiment  
at the fact that they'd stayed, but again, the soldier in him wouldn't allow it at that moment.  
  
The sounds of Max's own confrontations had died down too, he'd noticed as he turned back to  
face off his aggressors. Together with the now freed X6's, Alec launched his final, last-ditch  
attack at the men before him. The battle had been arduous, the men just as strong and fast as  
he had been, but when it came down to facing a unit's worth of Manticore creations, they were  
still no match.  
  
A few swift punches, a few narrowly missed strikes later and only one of the two remained. In  
his haste, Alec managed to let the man get a grip of him, his strong frame covering six feet in  
height easily lifted and thrown at the solid metal bars of the cage where the last of the X6's  
remained trapped.  
  
Alec would've admitted it right there, he was tired, it was over. But still something urged him on.   
It was like he'd suddenly realised the greater potential he'd been harbouring for so long,  
untapped and laying in ready reserves.  
  
Rolling over onto his back he could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth, a further sting  
from what he could only guess was a cut somewhere above his right eye. Whatever it was, it  
hurt a hell of a lot. Reaching up to grip the bars by his side he winced, visibly discomforted by  
the pain searing through his upper body with every breath. His ribs were showing all the  
symptoms of being at least cracked by the impact. Pushing all that aside he hauled himself up in  
time to see the last man go down at the hands of his new unit. Quickly they gathered round him,  
expressions mirroring the concern of those trapped on the other side of the bars.  
  
"You defy orders now too?" Alec asked only half joking as he grimaced and opened the cell  
door.   
  
The kids remained silent as if in the same understanding moment he was. Shaking off the  
moment Alec gestured to the route he'd entered by and made his order clearer this time.  
  
"Go! Now!"  
  
The X6 nodded and turned to follow Alec's direction as he herded them out. After the cages had  
opened everyone had scattered, in the heat of battle Alec hadn't noticed the lone X6 female that  
had been cut off from them until it was too late. He'd only just given the signal to a very beaten  
looking Max when he saw her. Max hadn't, Alec was just in time to see White get a closer shot  
at her. As the X6 fled suddenly from her hiding place Alec's heart almost stopped as all hell  
broke loose.  
  
Everything began to slow down and yet in that instant, one in which he himself had seen defeat  
in Max's eyes, it began to blur together as Alec's actions overtook words and all who witnessed.   
he was unaware that he'd called her name as he charged out, swiftly leaping over the bar and  
descending in a graceful drop to the warehouse floor below. Running at them with blinding  
speed Alec didn't really know exactly what the plan was, he'd just reacted. Reacted without  
thought that was, until he registered the smirk on White's face and swore blind thanks to  
whatever powers were at work when the gun was lowered from Max's direction.  
  
The shots themselves he hadn't felt, hadn't been aware of at all in fact. In those brief seconds  
all Alec knew was that his legs had betrayed him as his body fell crashing to the cold, concrete  
floor beneath. The gunshots seemed to ring out after that, or perhaps it was only an echo.   
Unaware of the exact happenings of the past few seconds Alec could only curse himself for  
failing again.   
  
He'd failed in protecting her, for in that moment he was sure White had gunned her down  
instead. The only reason to think otherwise would have been to register the burning pain in his  
own body or the numbness taking over his limbs. Perhaps the shiver that passed though his  
body on wave after wave of sickening nausea.   
  
In actuality the only reason Alec stopped to think otherwise was because he'd heard Max's voice  
call out his name. Not some unfeeling, detached designation, but his name. The name she'd  
given him, the name he'd never heard her say quite like that before.  
  
As the darkness began it's restless onslaught Alec began to fight it off just for the chance of  
finding what he hoped to be true. He was only dimly aware of smaller hands covering his where  
they clutched at his side and left upper chest. It was then that he noticed the concern in her  
eyes and felt the trembling in her hands. The warm, sticky liquid covering his numbing hands  
glistening scarlet for the world to see. As the blackness began to engulf him, Alec was bearly  
aware of Max's powerful, but weakened grip on him as all the world slipped away on a  
breathless whisper.  
  
"Max..." 


	4. People We Care About

TITLE: Thicker Than Water  
  
WRITTEN BY: Drea Jackman  
  
EMAIL: X5-117@GeneticallyEngineered.co.uk  
  
WEBSITE: Logan & Max - http://eyesonly.topcities.com/  
  
RATING: R  
  
SUMMARY: When Alec's true colours finally shine through, Max realises that perhaps blood  
really is thicker than water.   
  
DISCLAIMER: All Dark Angel characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee  
(Cameron Eglee Productions) and Dark Angel itself belongs to FOX...it's just not fair is it? *Sob*  
  
ARCHIVE: If I've said yes before I'll say it again, otherwise email me 'n' lemme know.  
  
FEEDBACK: Don't make me beg, please? ...D'OH!  
  
A/N: Well here it is, the chapter with more M/L...but I still like the M/A content :) Granted it's not  
all fluff and the usual shippery good stuff, but I suppose I liked the sentiment between them even  
with the events of season 2's dumbass virus. See? I still love Logan! I'm no traitor...it just so  
happens I can appreciate Alec too...lol. One more chapter to come after this...at least that's  
what's been planned but it's not written yet. Should have it done at some point this week if Uni  
doesn't get too hectic. First week back on a new timetable of lectures...wish me luck, lol. Late.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________  
  
  
Alec awoke suddenly, body aching and trembling from the nightmare, aspects both real and  
imagined leaving haunting after images. His eyes wouldn't focus as the burning pain continued  
to sting them, only the sensation of hot tears burning down his cheeks letting him know that in  
that instant he'd been dreaming.   
  
"Shhh," a quiet voice soothed him.  
  
"Max?" his voice was more childlike than she could ever remember hearing it having been in the  
months of knowing him.  
  
"It's okay," Her small hands stilled his as he tossed and turned in the bed.  
  
"Max," he gasped, hands gripping hers weakly as he tried to sit up. Max only shrugged out of  
his grip as she held his shoulders, stilling his panicked movements. "I screwed up. I'm sorry..."  
  
Max felt tears burning her own eyes again as she went to sit by him on the bed. How wrong  
she'd been to write him off as a self-centred, arrogant smart ass who only screwed things up and  
looked out for himself. Worse than guilt over her own misconceptions was the worry that Alec  
himself had taken to believing it as a truth when in fact it was all wrong.  
  
As Alec's motions became quiet, soothed by her presence, Max watched as fatigue overcame  
him as quickly as it had surrendered him minutes before. Shifting on the double bed she lay  
alongside him, leaning back against the headboard, turned toward him as his head sunk back  
into the pillows. One hand over his bound ribs, a physical sign of support while the other  
reached for his forehead, brushing away the fallen strands in a sign this time of comfort.  
  
"No Alec," she whispered calmly, knowing that he'd saved her earlier that night, almost giving his  
own life to do so. The X6's had all escaped safely too. He'd saved them all. "You didn't."  
  
Alec's eyes fought to open again and his head tilted up toward her, eyes searching for hers as if  
he couldn't completely express feeling at what she was saying. He'd tried so hard since being  
thrown into the broken world outside Manticore, but he'd even begun to believe what they all  
thought of him. His eyes locked with hers for moments longer than either could count before his  
eyelids grew heavy again. Before they closed and finally gave way to sleep Max made sure he'd  
never feel like a screw-up again.  
  
"You saved us all tonight."   
  
Her whisper blew over him on a gentle breath of reassurance as Alec's eyes finally closed and  
he drifted off into a peaceful slumber. Max watched him for a long time, just being there so he  
wouldn't have to be alone. Her fingers combed through his short hair in an attempt to sooth and  
ward off any returning nightmares. After a while his features became serene and content. With  
one last gesture she leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his forehead as she slid off the bed.  
  
"You did good Alec."  
  
Quietly slipping out of the guest bedroom Max crossed the small hall space behind the screens  
and entered the bathroom. Flipping the switch she slowly focused on the image staring back at  
her from the mirror before her. Running some water into the basin she set about cleaning  
herself up. None of her wounds really needed dressing, her injuries mostly deep bruises and  
those irritating, little cuts that never really did anything serious beyond sting like hell. Still, the  
water in the sink was tainted by the deep red stain of blood.  
  
Alec's...  
  
In the end Max found herself taking a shower to get the blood and grime out. The gnawing guilt  
still ate away at her and she hated herself for it. Even the gentle flow of warm water wasn't  
enough to wash it away or sooth her any.   
  
After stealing ten precious minutes to herself in the shower she stepped out and retrieved a  
bottle of disinfectant kept under the sink. Turning the cold water off Max let the water reach a  
blistering temperature as she began to cleanse the shower of her presence. Once done she  
pulled her jeans and top back on, just glad to be somewhat cleaner.  
  
When she entered the lounge area of the penthouse she approached the tall windows slowly.   
Max crept towards the inner window ledge silently, making her way past the sofa where Logan  
lay asleep at a safe distance. Leaning back on the ledge itself, Max settled herself to watch him.  
  
Logan sat semi-upright on the sofa, his head tilted off to the side as his body slumped back into  
the soft cushions. He held a book in his hands, unknown to Max, an attempt at passively  
awaiting her company. His disheveled hair didn't seem so long around the front anymore. Then  
again, that may only have been because she could make out the furrow knotting his brow.  
  
Max was at a loss for words. Even in his sleep, Logan managed to show concern and fear for  
her. It took every fibre of strength she had to stop herself from just crossing the precious  
distance between them to make the worried frown disappear. To just kneel down by him and  
awaken him with a gentle kiss, feeling the disarray of his hair or the warmth of his skin against  
hers even if only for a moment.  
  
It was a precious reverie Max was snapped out of as Logan stirred, the book falling from his  
grasp and landing with a soft thump on the floor. Logan's eyes flew open, blue locked with the  
dark depths of her own as if on some level he'd known exactly where she'd be. As if both were  
aware of Max's thoughts only moments before, they stared for what felt like an eternity. Finally  
concern got the better of him and he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.  
  
"Didn't mean to wake you, " Max offered only half sincere.  
  
"That's okay," he groaned as he stretched his back upright to straighten out the kinks that were  
played havoc with his taught muscles. "Didn't mean to fall asleep," he finished. He turned, after  
readjusting his glasses, to face her.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"For what?" he asked, genuinely at a loss.  
  
"I didn't know where else to bring him."  
  
"You don't owe me an apology for anything, Max. How is he?"  
  
"Better," she trailed off hoping his improving physical condition was also a mirror of his  
psychological one.  
  
"You saved his life."  
  
"He saved mine, it was the least I could do," she feined indifference to the depth at which the  
sentiment ran, but she couldn't hide it from Logan.  
  
"Doesn't sound like the Alec I've been hearing about," he replied in a typically soothing tone.  
  
"Yeah well, I'm to blame for that."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"I was too hard on him, never gave him a chance because I thought he'd only screw it up."   
  
Again her voice trailed off, broken by haunting images of the second both bullets tore through  
Alec in her stead.  
  
"He hid a little too well behind his own mask. You weren't to blame for that, Max," Logan  
reassured her.  
  
"You should've seen the look on his face when I told him it wasn't his fault, that he hadn't  
messed up at all. I'll never forget it. Like actually having someone reassure him or accept him  
was something he'd never expected in his life, especially from me."  
  
Max's own thoughts tore her to the core in those seconds and she calmly brushed away the  
tears that had only begin to spill. Logan could only watch the woman he loved in distress,  
unable to comfort her physically the way he longed to. It broke his heart to be unable to offer  
her that.  
  
"I'm sorry too, " he said, surprising her.  
  
"Why?" she asked as she dried her tears and regained a little more of her composure, comforted  
by the fact that at least Alec was alive and he'd be okay.  
  
"I want to be here for you the way I used to. I want to hold you and make it all just go away even  
if it's just for one second."   
  
His confession was honest and spoken from the depths of his heart, but he still felt like he'd  
sinned in his surrender.  
  
"Logan," Max stopped him as she circled him and sat down facing him on the far side of the sofa.   
"You are here for me, same now as you've always been."  
  
She saw that while Logan was listening, he wasn't entirely buying all she had to say. It felt like  
dealing with the chair all over again so she changed her approach a little.  
  
"Don't take this the wrong way, but while I'm sure one of your hugs would feel great, that damn  
sexy, soft voice of yours has always been enough," she offered him with a slightly playful smirk  
and the tension around them began to ease.  
  
Logan smiled and let out a low breath slowly as he too felt the tension around them dissolve and  
dissipate.  
  
"I guess I just feel like there's all this new stuff going on in your life now. With this virus deal it  
feels like everything's just come to a stop for us."  
  
"Don't feel that I don't have time for you in my life now. Things have changed, but I still need  
you with me in this," Max reassured him, finally feeling like the growing issues of the past few  
months, shadows and pent up feelings, were being aired out.  
  
Logan's slight smile began to fade as he took on board the magnitude of what had really been  
said. Max's expression reflected the understanding his did as she finally stretched out her  
achingly stiff limbs.  
  
"Sore, I'm guessing, is pretty much a given. How about tired?" Logan asked, releasing them  
from the tension again building in the intimate moment.  
  
"More than you know," she replied as she stood up.  
  
"You're welcome to take my bed. Sofa's surprisingly comfy and I wouldn't wanna give that up,"  
he offered with a smile that Max felt radiating through her entire body.  
  
"Probably not a good idea. Gotta check on Alec anyway," she said backing away towards the  
hall.  
  
"Okay," Logan agreed with a satisfied smirk.  
  
"Hey Logan?" Max stopped and peered back around the screens to where Logan was preparing  
to head off to bed.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Why do you suppose we do it?"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Go through so much pain and hurt only to do it again and again with no regard."  
  
Logan smiled and locked her eyes in a meaningful gaze with his, the only thing he had left to  
serve as a goodnight kiss.  
  
"They say blood's thicker than water, but it can evoke just as much love. People do crazy things  
for the people they care about."  
  
Max gazed back at him, taking in the entire thought before allowing the gentle smile to creep  
over her features. Logan's soft smirk echoed hers as he slowly returned to picking up his book  
and took a few steps toward his bedroom.  
  
"G'night Logan," she said softly as she headed back towards the guest bedroom where Alec lay  
asleep, ready to begin the night's vigil.  
  
Logan's whisper-soft voice was just that, but Max heard every tone clearly as she entered the  
room.  
  
"Night Max." 


	5. I'm Sorry...

TITLE: Thicker Than Water  
  
WRITTEN BY: Drea Jackman  
  
EMAIL: wtsw02889@Blueyonder.co.uk  
  
WEBSITE: Of Dreams & Reality - http://DreaJackman.cjb.net/  
  
RATING: R  
  
SUMMARY: When Alec's true colours finally shine through, Max realises that perhaps blood really is thicker than water.  
  
DISCLAIMER: All Dark Angel characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee (Cameron Eglee Productions) and Dark Angel itself belongs to FOX...it's just not fair is it? *Sob*  
  
ARCHIVE: If I've said yes before I'll say it again, otherwise email me 'n' lemme know.  
  
FEEDBACK: Don't make me beg, please? ...D'OH!  
  
A/N: Well, it's chapter 5. Probably a little rough around the edges cause I've been writing for Duncan James alot lately in my spare time (he's such a hottie! Lol, check him out in Blue!). Not all of what I wanna have happen has happened just yet and this is by no means the end of the story altogether. BUT, I am gonna be amazingly busy in the next few weeks even though Easter break is coming up and I wanted to leave you with a little more of a conclusion. Let's just say this'll be the platform with which I get to build up a sequel (  
  
____________________________________________________________________________  
  
  
  
Alec wasn't quite sure where he'd been, but right then the darkness felt strangely comfortable. It enveloped him like a warm blanket and for the first time in his life he knew what it meant to feel safe. However, this safety wasn't that of self-sufficiency or strength and power, it was one of protection and being the protected.  
  
Slowly Alec opened his eyes and watched as the world around him gradually came into focus. The first thing he became aware of was the pain that had become dull overnight but still lingered on even after those long hours. His entire body ached with it while every deep breath brought new pain to his ribs and upper chest. His left side and shoulder ached more, a deep, stiff throbbing that refused to grow dim or fade away.  
  
'Where am I?' he wondered, mind still foggy.  
  
It was then that he realised there was another weight across his abdomen, the bed to his left dipping down slightly as the slight weight of another seemed settled.  
  
Alec's eyes made their way down the trail from the spot he'd been focusing on, on the ceiling above to the occupied position beside him, all the while trying to move as little as possible. His eyes came to settle on Max's sleeping form. He studied her for a while before actually trying attach or process any thoughts about her.  
  
Max lay sleeping peacefully beside him, body turned towards his with her arm outstretched over him where her hand splayed out over the bandages binding his cracked and bruised ribs. To Alec it looked a little more possessive than he was willing to give Max credit for, but then again, the past twenty four hours had brought all manner of new things. Why should that have been any different?  
  
Settling himself, Alec continued to watch Max sleep. He remembered one of her own smart ass quips about not sleeping and felt himself attempt a smirk at the sight before him now. She looked as if she hadn't slept in months, which in the end he supposed was probably right anyway. Still, she looked worn out. The night before had taken it's toll on them both and there in the early hours of the morning Alec reflected from a different point of view.  
  
494 aKa 'Alec'. She'd given him the name, told him he wasn't a simple, numeric designation any longer, but even back then he hadn't believed her. Maybe it was because he'd been scared to admit that the broken world outside Manticore really had been a source of more than simple discomfort for him. Truth be known he'd actually been scared. How was he supposed to be anything else but the soldier they'd made him to be? Everything about him was designed for that purpose and that purpose alone. Then she came along and blew him right out of the water, in actuality throwing him the lifeline that kept him afloat long enough to find his footing.  
  
Sure they argued and fought, but even watching her at that moment Alec knew that it hadn't always been malicious or mean. They had a different kind of banter, that was all. Still, Max had saved his ass more times than he'd have liked to admit and he'd never once felt like he could do the same in return. To be honest he'd never really thought about it. He was the victim all too often on the outside...or perhaps that was the problem in the first place.  
  
Feeling like the victim. It had only taken precious seconds the night before to realise and act out of an emotion beyond anything he'd felt before, fear and self-preservation be damned. He really hadn't thought about his own life at all, only hers and the fact that something as truly beautiful as Max was almost taken from the world. Mind dwelling on warm thoughts, Alec closed his eyes to the vision of beauty before him and reflected on the sensation instead.  
  
Max stirred, warm breath blowing gently across Alec's chest. At any other time he'd probably have shivered but he decided to stay in the comfortable place he was in, quiet and safe. Opening her eyes, her own world came into focus and it was completely Alec. Her eyes settled on the slow and even rise and fall of his chest as he breathed deeply, only half feigning sleep in his exhausted state. She found a strange comfort in the action. Alec was breathing, he was there and he was alive.  
  
Drawing herself round she propped herself up and sat facing him, cross- legged on her side of the bed, the covers pooling at her waist. Again Alec refused to respond. Curiosity beaten only by concern Max began to look him over to check on his condition.  
  
Alec felt her small hands tracing the outline of the bandages around his abdomen, the thick dressings at both his left side and left shoulder, and still he didn't react. He couldn't help but flinch at the warm sensation of skin on skin that followed. His body unwillingly jerked beneath her tentative touch as he felt her palm press gently against the solid wall of his exposed chest.  
  
At his sudden reaction Max jumped, a little surprised she'd actually been nervous enough to be scared by such a trivial motion. Still, the feeling of Alec's body was a comforting one. Warm where he'd been cold before, heart beating strongly with every breath. Her eyes shot up to meet his, still hazy from sleep as she eventually drew her hand away to both their dismay. The contact had brought much sought comfort to both of them for precious seconds.  
  
"That tickles." Alec's voice was dry and raspy, but he still managed to smile slightly at her expression, giving her another flash of the Alec she knew.  
  
"Sorry," Max said as she felt the blush begin to creep over her cheeks. "Didn't mean to wake you."  
  
"Suppose I'll have to forgive you this time," he retorted but his voice trailed off into a fit of dry coughs and he immediately grimaced and clutched at his ribs, eyes snapping closed as the licks of pain flashed through him.  
  
Again Alec felt small, but powerful hands covering his, giving his aching ribs the support he couldn't provide alone. He fought for breath in short, sharp gasps as his eyes began to water in reaction to the fact that he'd been choking. Before he'd even thought to ask he felt Max's hands leave his and her voice creeping through the haze that had surrounded him so suddenly.  
  
"Here, drink this."  
  
Alec's eyes fluttered open slightly and he saw Max holding the glass or water to his lips. As he closed his eyes again and followed her command with implicit trust, he felt her free hand snake up through his hair to settle at the nape of his neck, supporting him as she guided him towards the liquid. The cool substance flowed down his throat gently, reviving and revitalising as it went. When he'd had enough he leaned back away from the glass, some of the water spilling over to trickle from his lips and trail down his neck.  
  
"Thank you," he replied with a satisfied sigh.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
As she spoke, Max set the glass aside and picked up one of the damp face towels as she turned back to him. Gently she trailed it across the path the straying water had taken, cleaning him up before setting it aside as well.  
  
"Like I've been hit by a truck," he answered truthfully. "How 'bout you?"  
  
His reply was reminiscent of their normally sarcastic, but well meaning banter, returning the inquiry as if it were just another polite meeting with an old buddy.  
  
"Alive," Max said looking him straight in the eye, not buying his banter for one second. "Thanks to you."  
  
Alec didn't know how to respond. His smart ass streak and gift of the come- back had deserted him, replaced instead by a deep satisfaction. Unashamed, he let his eyes trail over the beauty before him, taking in every aspect and delighting in it's presence. She was alive indeed, he'd actually done it. Slowly his eyes returned to hers and formed a strong lock that he didn't intend to break.  
  
"Figured the number of times I've screwed up plus the number of times you've saved my ass kinda deserved payback,"  
  
Max smiled a little at his attempt to lighten the situation up with humour. Still, she knew what she wanted to get off her chest and make right with him. As if Alec seemed to realise what she wanted to do, he began to try and shift to sit upright in the bed. After a few staggered attempts and painful breaths later, Max helped him lean back against the headboard and propped some pillows up behind him to make him more comfortable.  
  
"I know this is gonna sound cliché and insincere but I gotta say it anyway," she said, a little scared of what exactly was going to come out of her mouth as she spoke. "I'm sorry."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For treating you the way I have, for being so hard on you all the time."  
  
Max couldn't look him in the eye as she relived the times she'd told him to just disappear. All the mean things she'd said about him, berating him and taking him down. Managing to push him out of her life only to have him return each and every time like he'd been totally unfazed or unaffected by her words.  
  
"I don't mean to piss you off all the time, I guess it's just what I do best. Mess everything up."  
  
This time Alec's own words berated himself, feeling ashamed of all the times he'd taken it too far and pushed her away when all he really wanted was to be closer. He couldn't help it. He'd never met anyone quite like Max before and she was one of the only good things in his life. Friendship wasn't something they valued highly at Manticore and he'd only ever fumbled his way through his relationship with her, if he could even call it that.  
  
"You're not the only one that had a difficult time adjusting. You should've seen the trouble I got into when I was younger," she tried to offer her own mistakes as a source of comfort but from the look on his face, Max could tell he'd hear none of it.  
  
"Yeah, but you were like, what, 10 years old? I'm 20, Max, not really supposed to be fumbling my way through the most basic of human interactive skills. Should've just gone with instinct and cut myself off altogether. Less hassle..."  
  
"And less of a life. I've been there, thought I'd get by with the few friends I had at Jampony and that'd be the end of it. Just a girl tryin' to get by in the world, but then I met someone that changed that, showed me that it was worth making an effort 'cause that kind of relationship is what it's all about. Being able to be yourself, not having to hide..."  
  
Alec watched her intently as she spoke, her words speaking to him in ways that had never seemed to occur to him as making sense before. But she had Logan, him, the other guy that he'd never be able to be for her or himself. He envied the relationship Logan had with her, he had all the way through their fights and the worst of the messes he'd created for her.  
  
Still, Alec wasn't entirely sure it was a friendship like the ones she shared with Original Cindy and the others that he wanted from Max. The others sure, having friends that were actually there to give a damn would be nice if nothing else, but he didn't need it. He'd never been built to need anything, or at least that's what he'd thought until he met her.  
  
"Logan?"  
  
Max nodded and dropped her gaze to where his chest continued to rise and fall evenly underneath the dressings Logan had applied the night before.  
  
Max knew his story, where he'd come from and what it had been like, at least until her unit of X5s had escaped, leaving him and his unit behind for over ten years. They fought, they argued, but already he could tell they shared something that ran deeper and if it wasn't for his total lack of experience, Alec would've been the one to acknowledge it much sooner.  
  
"I'll never be like him," Alec finally sighed in defeat.  
  
Max looked back up at him suddenly, a look akin to utter shock on her face.  
  
"Who said you had to be like Logan?"  
  
Alec didn't really know why he'd said it in the first place, but chalked it up to the sole fact that no matter what, regardless of what he was talking about or doing at the time, he'd always successfully manage to screw it up by saying the wrong thing. Was admitting the truth to her the wrong thing? He sighed deeply, grimacing slightly as his cracked ribs sent hot licks of pain rippling through his nervous system.  
  
Max only watched, this time offering no help as her mind reeled over what Alec seemed to be slowly revealing to her. Life on the outside was just as tormenting as that behind Manticore's prison walls for him? Waves of guilt swept through her knowing that along with all the many others that just weren't ready to be out in the world, Max had dumped Alec out there and as good as told him to get on with it. Anything but be around her right?  
  
"You and Logan, you have this... connection. I guess I just want something like that."  
  
"You wanna know that you're capable or deserving of that kind of love from someone?" Max tested, surprise leaving her tone only to be replaced by an understanding edge. That was it; he really was ready to give up being the soldier they'd created and shaped for their own purposes and try and become the man he could be instead.  
  
"I am I'm capable of love, Max," he answered after brief moments of searching her eyes.  
  
Max drew in a low breath as she contemplated his apparent assured words. Alec had loved someone? He loved someone now? She couldn't believe just how much of the man she saw before her now had managed to slip past her. That wasn't strictly true; she hadn't seen him because she hadn't wanted to, although she still wasn't sure why she'd been so afraid to see him until now. Perhaps it was something she'd be able to figure out as she got to know him a little better.  
  
"I know," she breathed, her eyes making sure he understood that she hadn't doubted his ability to love for a second.  
  
He was a man, living and breathing with all the thoughts and feelings that went with that fact. Even if she hadn't paid any attention through her own misplaced fears for whatever reasons, he should never have to doubt that again and she never intended to let him again.  
  
"Blood's thicker than water, isn't that what they say?" Alec asked after another slightly awkward pause.  
  
Max looked confused, her only thoughts running to Logan's words before bed the night before. How could Alec have known that the phrase had been used so recently and so adequately? Suddenly she realised that maybe she'd taken what Logan said the wrong way. Perhaps the saying itself didn't fit her situation exactly the way she'd first applied it.  
  
The night before, when Logan had said it, she'd taken it to mean that in the scheme of things, he, as water to their little equation, was as capable as evoking the strong feelings she held for her X5 family. But they still say blood's thicker. In her situation, Alec was blood, or at least that's what Logan had implied, but Max felt strongly about the comparison now. Logan was wrong.  
  
"Maybe that's true, but nothing of you runs through my veins," she said almost sounding wistful as true realisation dawned on her. Alec was no brother of hers.  
  
"You're in mine..." Alec whispered back softly.  
  
Max was speechless and didn't reply.  
  
Alec meant it along with every possible meaning she could interpret it with. They weren't related, it was good that she'd made the point in saying so and saved him the trouble. The feelings he had definitely weren't of the healthy family vibe, but they were just as strong. He felt it even if she didn't.  
  
Alec had saved her life; in return she'd saved his, but it wasn't her blood he felt in his veins, it was love. Just how far that love extended was a mystery to him, but one he intended on finding the answers to. For the moment he was too sore and too exhausted to care. She'd saved him, that was all he needed to know for the time being. Content with that knowledge and the feeling of warmth it brought him, Alec felt his eyelids become heavier as the haze of sleep began to take over.  
  
"You should get some rest," Max's voice echoed softly in his ears as the vision of her beauty before him began to blur and become unrecognisable.  
  
"Mmm Hmm," he breathed.  
  
Max watched as Alec's eyelids drifted closed for the final time and darkness overtook his world again. Looking at him lying before her, all beaten, bruised and bloodied from countless wounds he'd taken in her stead, she still couldn't believe what he'd done. She hated admitting that she hadn't thought him capable of it, but from his actions and what he'd just told her, she felt terrible for doubting him.  
  
Reaching out she brushed some of the lighter strands of hair away from where they'd strayed onto his forehead in sleep and marvelled again in just how innocent he appeared to be. In the silent minutes that passed she took in the comforted expression on his face, the safety he appeared to feel in her presence and decided something. From then on, things were going to be very different for them. 


End file.
